Plastic "crumbs" are used to flatten, stabilize and carry the active ingredients in the products. Like many other substances, cosmetic products are also washed away and end up in the sewage systems, but unlike other substances, the water purification systems do not have the option of filtering the crumbs and thus these end up in the water systems, like the oceans and into our drinking and food water
Much has been written about the environmental damage caused by the remains of plastic: damage by creating congestion in garbage dumps, damage from sheets and bags that pollute the area, damage to animals on land and sea that eat and suffocate from plastic, and more. Among other things, the fact that the plastic does not break down chemically but crumbles into microplastics that penetrates into environmental systems and causes pollution was also mentioned.
To this day, the source of microplastics is considered to be bags and tarpaulins that are thrown away and disintegrate in the sea and on land. It turns out that there is an important source that was unknown until now, at least to the eyes of the general public.
Ahead of World Oceans Day, the UN Environment Program UNEP publishes a report calling for the management of microplastics by banning the use of microplastics for personal care products and cosmetics (PCCP).
The reading is based on a study called Plastic in Cosmetics. The conclusions from the research are that we pollute the environment by using care products.
Plastic ingredients derived from cosmetic products cause microplastic pollution of the marine environment. In the last fifty years, plastic has replaced natural materials in the cosmetics industry, and microplastic "crumbs" are found in many products: toothpaste, shower gel, make-up products and more. They all have microplastics in varying concentrations and amounts, from one percent to ninety percent of the product. In one of the tests it was found that there was an amount of plastic in the shower gel equal to that in the packaging!
The "crumbs" are used to flatten, stabilize and carry the active ingredients in the products. Like many other substances, cosmetic products are also washed away and end up in the sewage systems, but unlike other substances, the water purification systems do not have the option of filtering the "crumbs" and thus these end up in the water systems, the aquatic environment, the oceans and the terrestrial environment.
In countries where sewage water is reused, the "slurries" end up in agricultural fields and even in drinking water.
Of the 300 million tons of plastic produced in 2013, a significant portion ended up in the oceans. According to the report, the plastic pollution that does not decompose but crumbles and turns into microplastics causes environmental damages in the amount of about 13 billion dollars every year.
As human society develops new uses for plastic, the variety and quantities of plastic products increase and environmental pollution increases accordingly. According to a survey by the European Union, in 2012 more than 4,000 tons of microplastic "crumbs" came into use in Europe alone, where more than 90% were polyethylene crumbs.
The wide distribution of the "crumbs" in all the oceans, seas, lakes and rivers is becoming more and more clear. As the distribution picture becomes clearer, so does the enormous damage that the "crumbs" cause. Because of their small size and relatively large surface area, the "crumbs" absorb toxins and carry them to all environmental systems.
The "crumbs" are consumed by marine creatures, penetrate the systems of algae and plants, and hence the path to higher animals and people is short and easy.
That means anyone who consumes fish, seaweed or any product that comes from the sea is eating microplastics. Since today products from the sea are also used to feed domestic animals and fertilize agricultural fields, then everyone who eats animal or plant products is consuming plastic.
Not long ago, representatives from 150 countries gathered under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Assembly, the first conference that dealt with the damage of plastics and microplastics in the sea. At the gathering, they called for strengthening activity against pollution, mainly by preventing it at the source and calling for a worldwide study on the damage of microplastics in the marine environment while working to mitigate the harmful effect.
From the conference came an appeal to policymakers, manufacturers and consumers for preventive activity that will reduce and perhaps even completely stop the arrival of the "crumbs" in the natural environment by stopping the use of microplastics in cosmetics and switching to environmentally friendly products.
Already today there are a few countries in Europe and the USA where times (timetables) have been set to stop the use of microplastics in care products and cosmetics.
It is clear that until the bans come into effect and until the amount of "crumbs" in our environment decreases, we will continue to eat and drink plastic.
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There are microplastics even in products you don't imagine - like honey. It comes from the wings of the bees apparently.
I saw a Dutch series that investigates the food we eat
It doesn't melt micro plastic?
It turns out that the use of microplastic particles has been banned in seven US states:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/wisconsin-gov-signs-bill-banning-plastic-microbeads/
If plastic residues end up in the sewer, then in a country like Israel where most of the sewage is recycled and used for irrigation, the plants probably don't absorb the plastic (maybe nanometer grains do?). But in places where sewage discharges into the sea (most of the world), then oysters, crabs and fish can ingest these plastic particles. The question of whether these particles are absorbed by them from the digestive system into the body needs to be investigated - perhaps there are studies - whoever finds it will say.
That's why I've been switching to natural cosmetic products for a long time.
I feel like I've gone back 20 years in time, the same 25-year-old girl I was.
There is plastic in the cutting board in the kitchen, as well as dentures made of plastic, are there no risks?
The question is over
What is the problem with plastic particles?
They don't react with living things, what's the problem then?
It seems to me that the more serious problem is in spilling toxins into the water that are absorbed by the plastic and not in the existence of the plastic itself.
I'm not trying to tease these are really interested: how do plastic particles harm the body?
It is written in the body of the article "……….Plastic has replaced natural materials in the cosmetics industry…………"
That means there is a replacement for the plastic foam in the products,
Also, there is more and more use of organic materials (citrus peels, corn cobs, etc.) for making tools
"plastic-like"...
Plastic is a useless product in the oil industry, which means there is pressure from the oil barons to continue the polluting use,
There are also differences in production costs that prevent the development of substitutes that will not harm the environment,
to Dr. Assaf Rosenthal,
This is not the first time (and probably not the last) that we hear about the ecological and health damage of plastic.
The question arises: Is it possible to give up plastic completely without harming the functionality of the products that contain it?
I would appreciate your response!